Southern California’s Turkish community has sprung into action following Monday’s devastating earthquake that has killed thousands in Turkey and Syria.
Turkish American groups and businesses have been collecting donations for relief. One firm, a Turkish-owned grocery delivery company called Bakkal, has been sending cars and vans out to pick up donated items from businesses and homes.
Bakkal founder and CEO Murat Karslioglu listed a few of the things they’re collecting: “First-aid kits, over-the-counter medication, diapers, clothes, sleeping bags and blankets.”
Volunteers and workers are also picking up tents, hand warmers, and other cold-weather aid for people who’ve lost their homes, he said.
“We do deliveries, with vans or cars, and we thought this is where we can help,” Karslioglu said.
Bakkal, which Karslioglu describes as sort of an “Instacart for ethnic groceries,” has offices in northern California and Los Angeles, and a warehouse in Wilmington, where some of the donations are being sorted.
He said the company is coordinating with local Turkish American groups and the Turkish consulate to collect donations in the L.A. area and also in the Bay Area, and with Turkish Airlines to have them flown overseas. You can peruse a list of items that are in demand here.
Karslioglu said he survived a 7.6-magnitude earthquake that struck northwestern Turkey in 1999, so he can imagine the dire need that exists now.
“The shortest path to recovery is to provide immediate emergency materials,” he said, “because there is going to be a shortage.”
Other Turkish American groups have posted requests for relief donations online, among them the Association of Turkish Americans of Southern California.
Syrian American Medical Society
